1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lens barrel having an imaging lens, and an imaging device such as a camera or the like with the lens barrel provided therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many of the digital cameras which have been widely adopted in recent years include a viewfinder to allow a user to determine an angle of view of a subject. Many of these digital cameras also include a strobe mechanism to illuminate of the subject with visible light when the subject is in darkness.
Such digital cameras also generally include a zoom mechanism, and therefore require an accompanying viewfinder zoom. In cameras including a zoom mechanism, a zoom-strobe mechanism which changes the angle of view in a strobe device in conjunction with the zoom magnification of the barrel lens is generally known. An example of a camera including such a viewfinder is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2004-258167. Further, an example of a camera including a zoom-strobe mechanism is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2002-182097.
In the technology of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2004-258167, a viewfinder cam plate is provided to rotate as a moving cam ring in the zoom barrel rotates, and a viewfinder zoom operation is performed by way of a viewfinder lens following a cam groove provided in the viewfinder cam plate. During this operation, the moving cam ring and the viewfinder cam plate are interlocked using a specially provided protruding member on the moving cam ring.
In the technology of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2002-182097, a strobe cam plate moves as the lens barrel rotates, causing the strobe to move back and forth along an optical axis direction.
However, in the technology of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2004-258167, not only must a member to allow the moving cam ring to interlock with the viewfinder cam plate be specially provided on the moving cam ring, but a groove for fitting the viewfinder cam plate in a fixed barrel must be located in a central region of the fixed barrel. The resulting construction constraints cause a problem in that the thickness of the barrel has to increase in the optical axis direction.
Similarly, in the technology of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2002-182097, not only must a member to allow the moving cam ring to interlock with the strobe cam plate be specially provided on the moving cam ring, but a groove for fitting the strobe cam plate in a fixed barrel must be located in a central region of the fixed barrel. The resulting construction constraints cause a problem in that the thickness of the barrel has to increase in the optical axis direction.
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems and hence provides a lens barrel and an imaging device which allow efficient interlock between a cylindrical member such as a moving cam ring and a component such as a viewfinder cam plate or a strobe cam plate, without size-increasing.